Sunday, July 31, 2016

What Is My Purpose? Part I

Hey Friend,

I was in my mid forties when I began to ask (or re-ask) the question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?  What is my purpose in life?"  Up until that time I had learned to take pride in my role as a full-time mom.  Wise mentors helped me to see that being a mother is truly a high calling in God's eyes.  I learned to hold my head up and say, "I work out of the home - I'm a full time mom!"  I felt a sense of purpose and calling and direction.

Some days that calling was not so glamorous - like changing dirty diapers and washing load after load of laundry.  I didn't earn any "Employee of the Month" awards for cleaning up puke, but I knew deep down inside that I was doing something important.


Sunday, July 24, 2016

Jennifer Dukes Lee - Guest Post & Giveaway!!


Hi Friends,

It is my pleasure to welcome my friend and writer, Jennifer Dukes Lee, to guest post on my blog this week.  Jennifer is launching her new book, "The Happiness Dare".  I am pleased to help my friend, who is the real deal, and who writes with depth and honesty, to get the word out about her wonderful new book. Will you join me in welcoming her to this place...


How Your Thought Life Influences Your Happiness

It was one very pain-filled night. I was standing in the dimly lit sanctuary of my country church. I had come there to pray with a few friends due to an overwhelming set of circumstances in my life. Suddenly, I felt such a deep panic that I thought I couldn’t breathe.


Saturday, July 16, 2016

For When You're Struggling

Hey Friend,

I got to know Donna through our mutual enjoyment of a devotional blog called (in)courage (www.incourage.me).  I've shared my struggles with OCD induced anxiety and depression with you before.  I do well most of the time, but on this one particular day I was in the middle of an "episode". 

I was struggling to hold onto God's Truth.  My mind was filled with doubts, and the more it was filled with doubts, the more guilt and shame crept in along with downright fear.  I was sure God was disappointed in my lack of faith and He felt so very far away.  My mind was swimming with negative thoughts and I couldn't push them out no matter how hard I tried. 

You may not have OCD or depression, but I'm sure there have been times when you've struggled.  Struggled with negative thoughts, or doubt, or fear.  Thanks to Donna's reminding...I remembered just who is at work when I am most vulnerable...  the enemy (I call him the creep).  The enemy is a vengeful foe.  He seeks to isolate and destroy us and our minds are his battlefield. 

Recognizing who and what we are battling is the fist step in victory when we are struggling.

I'd like to share a letter to me from Donna in its entirety.  It brought great comfort knowing I was not alone and helped alleviate a lot of the guilt and shame I was experiencing.  In the battle with the enemy...she joined forces with me and I am forever grateful.

"They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony."  (Revelation 12:11)


Monday, July 4, 2016

Dependence Is Not A Four Letter Word

Hey Friend,

Today we celebrate our great Nation's independence.  By "independent" we mean that the United States of America is free from outside control.  We are not depending on another's authority.  We associate great freedom with our independence.

In our society "dependence" has become a four letter word.  We are supposed to be self-sufficient - not depending on anyone or anything.  We talk, in negative terms, of dependence on drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and co-dependence on each other.  We go to counseling in order to be free from our dependence.

What if there was a form of dependence that could be liberating and life-giving?  What then?

I believe that dependence on God can be liberating....

Instead of having to try to strive, and earn, and perform for the applause of God and others, I know that only Jesus was perfect.  This, for me, is liberating.

Since Jesus was perfect FOR me, I can now walk in FREEDOM!

Because Jesus was perfect, I don't have to be...PRAISE!

He did it all.  He paid the price.  He satisfied the Law and therefore I am set free to live life to the full.  I can now walk in freedom.

I also believe that dependence on God can be life-giving...

The more we depend on Him, the more we lean in and utterly rely on Him for our every breath, we find the abundant source of life that comes from abiding in Him.  We, in essence, tap into His life source.

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you have fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  (John 15: 4-5)

A living union with Christ is absolutely necessary; without it there is NOTHING.

I believe my highest and most difficult calling is to raise my children to be independent of me, but totally dependent on their Creator.  In that abiding dependence is the most liberating life source one can find.

I'll end this post with one of my favorite passages from the book entitled "Abide In Christ":

"Abiding in Him is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying this salvation, but a consenting to let him do all for us, and in us, and through us.  It is a work He does for us - the fruit and the power of His redeeming love.  Our part is simply to yield, to trust, and to wait for what He has engaged to perform." 

May you have a wonderful Independence Day while growing in dependence and reliance upon the One who loves you beyond words and wants to give you life to the full.

Be blessed...


ps.
Left on his own, this little boy who was destitute, despairing, disillusioned, hopeless, and angry, may have been a ripe recruit for extremists.
Instead, he found his way to a school supported by Redeemer Christian Foundation, Inc. and is finding love, and hope, and peace in learning about Jesus' great love for him...

Hard to believe it's the same little boy??  RCF, Inc. is transforming lives...